Asset insertion processing for content on demand

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods presented herein provide for the directed insertion of assets in Content On Demand content across a plurality of computing devices. One system includes a database operable to maintain campaign data of the assets and an asset insertion decision system operable to instantiate on a plurality of computing devices and to periodically access the database to provide the campaign data to the instantiations of the asset insertion decision system on the computing devices. For example, the asset insertion decision system may establish a recording period in which each instantiation of the asset insertion decision system is operable to direct insertion of a portion of the assets in Content On Demand content selections upon request and to record the asset insertions between accesses to the database. The asset insertion decision system is also operable to process the asset insertions recorded by the instantiations to synchronize the campaign database.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is related to commonly owned and co-pendingpatent applications ______, ______, ______, and ______ (Attorney DocketNos. 50100-001, 50100-002, 50100-003, and 50100-004; hereafter the“related patent applications”), the contents of each of which areincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of Content On Demand (COD) systemsand more specifically to the instantiated insertion of assets, such asadvertisements, into COD content and to the synchronization of datarelating to asset insertion.

BACKGROUND

Television networks, such as the American Broadcasting Company (ABC),the Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBS), and the National BroadcastingCompany (NBC), have for years broadcast television shows to the massesas a means for generating revenue through advertising. For example,these networks produce television shows and then seek out sponsors toadvertise on the shows. The television shows, or “content”, havedesignated timeslots in which the sponsors' advertisements, or “assets”,are inserted. The content and the inserted assets are then broadcast bythe television networks, or “content providers”, to the public overfederally licensed communication airways, occasionally referred to aslinear video distribution.

This “shotgun” approach to advertising proved to be very successful inthe beginning. However, as the number of advertisers wishing to selltheir goods and services substantially increased, television evolvedinto a much more complex system of communications. For example, cabletelevision providers and satellite television providers now serve as anintermediary between the content providers and the intended publicaudience. And, the number of content providers has increasedaccordingly. In this regard, many members of the general public havesigned on as customers of the cable/satellite television providers so asto receive a broader availability of content.

Because the market for content consumption has grown, the number oftelevision providers has also grown. And, because each of theseproviders has its own method of content delivery, the manner in whichthe content and assets are delivered to the customers has becomeincreasingly complex. Generally, the content providers deliver thecontent to the television providers with instructions to insert variousnational assets into the content at certain times. For example, if acompany wishes to run a national advertisement campaign targeting acertain television show associated with a particular demographic, thecompany may purchase one or more timeslots, or “placementopportunities”, within that television show from the content provider toair assets advertising the goods and services of the company. Thecontent provider then provides the content to each of the televisionproviders with directions to insert the assets within the timeslotspurchased by the company.

The television providers may also have certain timeslots available forinserting certain local assets. For example, a television provider mayhave “headends” configured in various communities to distribute contentto their customers located therein. Each headend receives content fromthe content providers with various designated timeslots for insertingassets into the content. Some of those timeslots may be designated forlocal ads where companies within the service area of the headend wish toadvertise. These companies purchase those timeslots from the televisionprovider for insertion of their assets to expose the customers to theiradvertising at the more local level.

As complex as the cable/satellite television has become, certain deviceshave come along to change and/or circumvent these forms of marketingaltogether. The digital recorder, such as that produced by Tivo, is oneexample of a means for avoiding the asset insertions of marketingstrategists. With the digital recorder, the television providers'customers are able to digitally record entire episodes of content andview that content at their leisure, as opposed to a time established bythe content providers. However, these customers could also use thedigital recorders to fast-forward or skip through the assets withoutviewing them, much to the dismay of the asset owners/marketers.

In response, television providers started providing content on a“Content On Demand” (COD) basis, occasionally referred to as nonlinearvideo distribution. In COD, the content provider delivers the content tothe television provider which in turn maintains the content forsubsequent and individual distribution to their customers. Thus, acustomer may select a desired content through a set-top box (STB) orother device and watch that content at the customer's leisure. This CODcontent is also typically configured with timeslots where assets may beinserted. However, marketing strategists have not been able to determinethe effectiveness of asset insertion in COD content.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods presented herein provide for the directed insertionof assets in Content On Demand content across a plurality of computingdevices. In one embodiment, a system includes a database operable tomaintain campaign data of the assets and an asset insertion decisionsystem operable to instantiate on the computing devices and toperiodically access the database to provide the campaign data to theinstantiations of the asset insertion decision system on the computingdevices. For example, the asset insertion decision system may operate ona computing device to provide the functionality of the asset insertiondecision systems of the related applications on various other computingdevices. The asset insertion decision system may establish a recordingperiod in which each instantiation of the asset insertion decisionsystem is operable to direct insertion of a portion of the assets inContent On Demand content selections upon request and to record theasset insertions between accesses to the database. The asset insertiondecision system is also operable to process the asset insertionsrecorded by the instantiations to synchronize the campaign database.

In one embodiment, each instantiation of the asset insertion decisionsystem is operable to process assets for insertion in the COD contentselections to qualify the assets for insertion in the COD contentselections, to rank the assets for insertion in the COD contentselections, and to resolve conflicts of the assets selected forinsertion in the COD content selections, or a combination thereof. Theasset insertion decision system is further operable to balance theprocessing of the instantiations across the computing devices. Forexample, each instantiation may perform all or a portion of thequalification, ranking, and conflict resolution processing. The assetinsertion decision system balances the processing across multiplecomputing devices. In some embodiments, the instantiations areconfigured at the headend such that a COD system can send a request forasset insertion directly to an instantiation of the asset insertiondecision system.

In qualifying the assets, at least one of the instantiations of theasset insertion decision system may be operable to process a request forasset insertions in a COD content selection by a customer premisesequipment to extract information of the COD content selection includinga provider of the COD content selection, to communicate with theprovider of the COD content selection to validate the request, toanalyze the information of the COD content selection to validate assetsfor insertion in the COD content selection, and to remove one or more ofthe assets from insertion selection based on the validation of theassets.

In ranking the assets, at least one of the instantiations of the assetinsertion decision system is operable to process a request for assetinsertions in a COD content selection by a customer premises equipment,to identify assets that are available for insertion in the COD contentselection, to determine values of the available assets to a provider ofthe COD content selection, to rank the available assets based on thedetermined values, and to direct the insertion of the one or more assetsin the selected COD content based on the rank of the available assets.

In resolving conflicts between the assets, at least one of theinstantiations of the asset insertion decision system may be operable toprocess a request for asset insertions in a COD content selection by acustomer premises equipment, to identify asset timeslots within the CODcontent selection from the request, to determine an asset separationcriteria from assets, to determine conflicts among the assets based onthe asset separation criteria to remove conflicting assets, and toselect at least a portion of the remaining assets for insertion in theasset timeslots of the COD content selection.

The various embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in a varietyof ways as a matter of design choice. For example, the embodiments maytake the form of physical machines, computer hardware, software,firmware, or combinations thereof. In another embodiment, a computerreadable medium is operable to store software instructions forprocessing directed insertion of assets into content throughinstantiations of a COD asset insertion decision system on multiplesystems. These software instructions are configured so as to direct aprocessor or some other processing system to operate in the mannerdescribed above.

Additionally, although the term “headend” generally suggests thedistribution center or office of a cable television operator or MSO, theterm is not intended to be so limited. The term headend as used hereinis any system operable to deliver content to a viewer (e.g., a customeror user of the CPE). For example, the term headend may encompassinternet servers delivering COD content when selected by a user from adevice, such as a computer, a tablet, or a mobile phone. A headend mayalso refer to a telecom provider that distributes content to mobilephones and other devices. Also, the term “asset”, as used herein,includes any type of media for which an owner desires promotion.Examples of such include traditional television commercials,advertisements, streaming video commercials, promotional materials,marketing information, and the like. The term “content”, as used hereinis any type of media, such as audio and/or video, in which assets may beinserted. For example, the content operable within the COD deliverysystems described herein may be streamed Internet audio/video, analogcable television feeds, digital cable television feeds, digitalsatellite television feeds, or digital satellite radio feeds. Thus, thecontent of the COD described herein is intended to encompass Video onDemand (VOD) found in modern cable television as well as pay-per-view(PPV) delivered by both modern cable television and satellitetelevision.

Other exemplary embodiments are described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the present invention are now described, by way ofexample only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings. The samereference number represents the same element or the same type of elementon all drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary COD asset insertion decisionsystem.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an instantiation of the COD asset insertiondecision system instantiation operable with a COD system of a headend.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary timing diagram of content interlaced with assettimeslots.

FIG. 4 is block diagram of an exemplary COD asset insertion decisionsystem.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary method operable with the COD assetinsertion decision system.

FIGS. 6-8 are block diagrams illustrating various exemplary embodimentsof the COD asset insertion decision system.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary processing system operable toimplement a COD asset insertion decision system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures and the following description illustrate specific exemplaryembodiments of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that thoseskilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that,although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principlesof the invention and are included within the scope of the invention.Furthermore, any examples described herein are intended to aid inunderstanding the principles of the invention, and are to be construedas being without limitation to such specifically recited examples andconditions. As a result, the invention is not limited to the specificembodiments or examples described below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary COD asset insertion decisionsystem 111. The COD asset insertion decision system 111 is any systemdevice, software, or combination thereof operable to instantiate on aplurality of computing devices 112-1-n to direct asset insertions intoCOD content (where “n” is merely intended to represent an integergreater than 1 and not necessarily equal to any other “n” referencenumber shown and described herein). For example, the COD asset insertiondecision system 111 may be operable on a computing device to communicatewith other computing devices 112 through the network 110 to provide thefunctionality of the asset insertion decision system 111 shown anddescribed below and in the related applications to each instantiation113. Each instantiation 113 of the COD asset insertion decision system111 is thus operable within a computing device 112 to direct the assetinsertions based on a COD asset insertion request from a headend (shownand described below). Each instantiation 113 may record the assetinsertions in a list 114 which may be used by the COD asset insertiondecision system 111 to synchronize an asset campaign database 106.

The asset campaign database 106 is any system, device, software, orcombination thereof operable to monitor the campaigns of the assets asinfluenced by the assets being inserted in the selected COD content. Forexample, the COD asset insertion decision system 111 may access theasset campaign database 106 to determine a health of campaigns (e.g., apercentage of assets inserted based on the number of required assets inthe campaign). The COD asset insertion decision system 111 may use thatcampaign data to compute, among other things, rankings of the assetsthat provide value to a provider of the selected COD content (e.g., acable television headend). Afterwards, the COD asset insertion decisionsystem 111 may direct one or more of the ranked assets for insertioninto the selected COD content.

The asset campaign database 106 may record the actual insertions of theassets within each of the various COD content selections. For example,the asset campaign database 106 may log the actual insertions of theassets to compute/maintain the data relating to the campaign health ofthe assets. For example, if an asset campaign dictates that a particularasset is to be inserted into COD content 100 times within a day, and theasset has been inserted into various COD content selections 60 timesduring that day, the asset campaign database 106 may show that thecampaign is 60% complete and still eligible for COD content insertions.Each time that asset is inserted into a COD content selection, the assetcampaign database 106 may recompute the campaign data associated withthe asset to ensure that the asset is not further placed after meetingthe campaign requirements. Examples of campaigns, campaign items,assets, and their associated data and computations are shown anddescribed in the related patent applications.

In some instances, the computation of campaign data can be quitetime-consuming and processor intensive. For example, when the COD assetinsertion decision system 111 instantiates on numerous computing devices112, each instantiation 113 of the COD asset insertion decision system111 may direct insertion of assets into thousands or even hundreds ofthousands of COD content selections at any given time. Thus, the linkbetween a COD asset insertion decision system 111 and the asset campaigndatabase 106 may be overwhelmed with data requests. And, since each timean asset is inserted into a particular COD content selection, thecampaign data is typically recalculated substantially increasing theamount of processing being performed by so many requests.

To decrease the amount of processing related to so many COD contentinsertion requests, each instantiation 113 provides a means for cachingdata of the directed insertions in an asset insertion list 114. Thiscaching means alleviates the accesses to the asset campaign database 106by the COD asset insertion decision system 111 and allows for theperiodic synchronization of the database 106.

The network 110 may be any type of communication link capable ofproviding communication between the COD asset insertion decision system111, the asset campaign database 106, and the instantiations 113-1-n.For example, the network 110 may be implemented as a virtual privatenetwork via the Internet. The COD asset insertion decision system 111may communicate through the network 110 to the instantiations 113 toprovide campaign data of the asset campaign database 106. Eachinstantiation 103 may then use the campaign data to direct assetinsertions in COD content as requested. After some time, the COD assetinsertion decision system 111 may retrieve the lists 114-1-n from eachinstantiation 113 through the network 110 to periodically synchronizethe asset campaign database 106, thereby alleviating processor intensiveaccesses to the database 106 and/or computations of campaign data by thedatabase 106.

An exemplary process relating to the operation of the COD assetinsertion decision system 111 and its instantiations 113 is shown anddescribed in the flowchart of FIG. 5. However, before delving intospecific aspects of the COD asset insertion decision system 111 and itsinstantiated operability on various computing devices 112, a discussionof the functionality of the COD asset insertion decision system 111 isfirst presented.

In FIG. 2, a block diagram of an exemplary COD asset insertion decisionsystem 111 operable with a COD system 203 (also known as a “COD backoffice system”) of a headend 202 is illustrated. The headend 202 isgenerally any system operable to receive content for processing anddistribution to a CPE 207 (e.g., over a cable television infrastructureor from satellite). For example, the headend 202 may receive contentfrom content providers over television signals for distribution to thecustomers of a cable television provider via the customer premiseequipment (CPE) 207, such as a set-top box (STB), a gaming console, asmart phone, an electronic tablet, a computer, or the like.

To provide the COD content, the headend 202 includes a COD system 203that is operable to provide content to the CPE 207 when desired by thecustomer. For example, the headend 202 may receive the content from thecontent providers and maintain that content within a content database204. The headend 202 may also maintain local assets in a local assetdatabase 205 and national assets in a national asset database 206. Whena particular content is selected by the user of the CPE 207, the COD 203accesses the content database 204 to retrieve the selected content anddeliver that content to the CPE 207. In this regard, the COD 203 is anysystem or device that is operable to deliver video content to the CPE207 when directed by the CPE 207. The COD asset insertion decisionsystem 202 is any system or device that is operable to direct insertionof assets into the content provided to the CPE 207 by the COD 203. Thedatabases 204, 205, and 206 are any systems or devices operable to storeand maintain data, audio, and/or video for subsequent distribution tothe CPE 207. For example, the databases 204, 205, and 206 may beoperable within a computer system that stores the video and audio (e.g.,MPEG) content and assets such that they may be accessed by the COD 203and delivered to the CPE 207 when desired by the user of such.

To illustrate the insertion of assets into content, FIG. 3 shows anexemplary timing diagram of content 210 interlaced with asset timeslots211, also known as “break positions”. When the COD 203 receives amessage from the CPE 207 for the content 210, the COD 203 retrieves thecontent 210 from the content database 104. The content 210, in thisembodiment, is divided into two segments 210-1 and 210-2 with timeslots211 disposed at the front end of the content 210-1 (i.e., timeslot 211-1at the pre roll position), in between the content segments 210-1 and210-2 (i.e., timeslot 211-2 at the mid roll position), and at the end ofthe content segment 210-2 (i.e., timeslot 211-3 at the post rollposition). Each timeslot 211 is divided into two asset placementtimeslots 212, or “placement opportunities”, each of which being capablefor accepting an asset that is typically, but not always, 30 seconds induration. Thus, a placement opportunity is generally a subset of time ofa particular timeslot 211. Each instantiation 113 of the COD assetinsertion decision system 111 directs the COD 203 to insert the assetsaccording to a particular ranking that provides value for an MSO and/ora content provider (e.g., monetary value, enhanced relationships withasset providers, etc.). In this regard, the COD asset insertion decisionsystem 111 may direct the COD 203 to select assets from the nationalasset database 206 and/or the local asset database 205 for insertioninto the asset timeslots 212-1-212-6 based on the ranking provided bythe COD asset insertion decision system 111.

The instantiations 113-1-n of the COD asset insertion decision system111 are not intended to be limited to merely providing direction to theCOD 203 for selection of various assets in a local asset database 205and the national asset database 206. In one particular embodiment, eachinstantiation 113 is operable to provide a portion of the processingthat directs the COD 203 to insert the assets in the COD content. Forexample, the COD asset insertion decision system 111 may be operable toqualify assets for insertion into COD content, rank the qualified assetsfor insertion, and then resolve conflicts between ranked assets prior toinsertion. This functionality of the COD asset insertion decision system111 may be divided amongst various instantiations 113 to balance theprocessing of their respective computing devices 112. In other words,the COD asset insertion decision system 111 may be operable to balancethe COD asset insertion decision processing on multiple computingdevices 112.

Additionally, the instantiations 113-1-n of the COD asset insertiondecision system 111 may be communicatively coupled to content providersso as to receive instructions regarding various campaigns from assetproviders on a national level. Alternatively or additionally, theinstantiations 113 may be communicatively coupled to asset providers toreceive and direct insertion of the assets therefrom into the CODcontent 210. In some embodiments, such as those illustrated below, aninstantiation 113 of the COD asset insertion decision system 111 may beconfigured with the headend 202 to direct insertion of assets into theasset timeslots 212-1-212-6.

Also, the invention is not intended be limited to any particular numberof content segments 210 or any particular number of asset timeslots. Infact, an asset timeslot 212 may be subdivided for insertion of multipleassets. For example, television commercials are typically 30 seconds inlength. Occasionally, however, asset providers reduce the material ofcertain assets to reduce the overall duration of a particular asset(e.g., by removing material from a 30 second commercial to reduce it toa 15 second commercial). Accordingly, a 30 second asset timeslot 212 maybe configured to accept insertions of two 15 second assets.

It should also be noted that the decisions regarding the direction ofasset insertions occur quite rapidly. For example, each instantiation113 of the COD asset insertion decision system 111 may be operable tomake asset insertion decisions for a plurality of headends 202. And,each headend 202 may be operable to provide COD content to a pluralityof CPEs 207 at any given time, possibly thousands or more. Thus, when aCOD content selection is made by a particular CPE 207, eachinstantiation 113 of the COD asset insertion decision system 111responds in substantially real time to ensure that the COD 203 has ampletime to retrieve and insert the assets while processing the contentselected by the CPE 207.

FIG. 4 is a more detailed block diagram of the exemplary functionalityand operating modules of the COD asset insertion decision system 111that may be instantiated on the computing devices 112-1-n. This includesan interface 254, an asset qualification module (AQM) 251, an assetranking module (ARM) 252, and an asset conflict resolution module (ACRM)253. The interface 254 is any device or system operable to receiveinformation pertaining to a content selection by a CPE 207 such that theCOD asset insertion decision system 111 may direct asset insertion intothe selected content. In this regard, the interface 254 may also beoperable to transfer information to the COD 203 to direct the COD 203 toinsert certain assets from the national asset database 206 and/or thelocal asset database 205.

The AQM 251 is any device or system operable to communicate with theinterface 254 to initially qualify assets for insertion within thecontent. The AQM 251 may exclude certain assets from insertion into thecontent selected by the CPE 207. The ARM 252 is any device or systemoperable to rank the remaining assets (i.e., those not already excludedby the AQM 251) for insertion to the content 210. The ACRM 253 is anydevice or system operable to remove any ranked assets from insertioninto the content 210 based on conflicts between assets. For example, theACRM 253 may determine that assets from certain advertisers conflictwith one another (e.g., Coke and Pepsi). Accordingly, the ACRM 253 maybe operable to prevent assets from these advertisers from being insertedwithin a same timeslot 211 or even within a same content 210.

Initiation of the COD asset insertion begins when a CPE 207 selects aparticular content provided by the headend 102. The CPE 207 transfers acontent request to the COD 203 which in turn retrieves the content fromthe content database 204. The COD 203 may also retrieve active campaignsfrom the national asset database 206 and/or the local asset database205. For example, each asset provider may generate an advertisingcampaign with one or more campaign items. Each of these campaign itemsmay be associated with one or more assets of the asset providerdesignating the desired time, date, content, audience/demographic, etc.,for which the assets are to be inserted into selected COD content. TheCOD 203 may retrieve the active campaigns of the asset providers andgenerate an asset insertion request for the AQM 251 of the COD assetinsertion decision system 111.

Upon receiving the request, the AQM 251 may determine certain parametersrelating to the placement of the assets. For example, the AQM 251 maydetermine durations of the assets and various placement opportunitiesfor the assets (i.e., appropriate timeslots within the selectedcontent). The AQM 251 may also process the active campaigns to determinetheir eligibility within the content to generate a list for the ARM 252such that the ARM 252 may rank and select eligible campaigns from thatlist. In doing so, the AQM 251 may exclude certain campaigns from thelist based on various criteria, such as whether the asset providerand/or the asset itself is valid and whether the insertion opportunitiesthemselves are valid.

Once the ARM 252 receives the eligible campaign list, the ARM 252 ranksthe campaigns and their various assets for insertion into the contentselected by the CPE 207. The ARM 252 may rank the campaigns based on,among other things, their value to the content provider and/or thetelevision provider, the strategy of the campaign, and the priority ofthe campaign. The ranked list of eligible campaigns is then generatedand transferred to the ACRM 253 which determines whether any conflictsexist among the ranked campaigns. The ACRM 253 excludes certaincampaigns from insertion when they conflict with others in the contentselected by the CPE 207. For example, when one campaign conflicts withanother campaign in the list for a particular selected content, theasset of the higher ranked campaign may be inserted into the contenteffectively excluding the lower-ranked campaign from that content.

Once the ACRM 253 removes conflicts from the ranked list of possiblecampaigns, the ACRM 253 transfers the final placement of the assetswithin the content to the COD 203, which in turn inserts the assets intothe timeslots of the selected content. The COD 203 retrieves the assetsfrom the local asset database 205 and/or the national asset database 206for insertion of the assets into the selected content. With the assetsinserted into the selected content, the COD 203 transfers the contentand assets to the CPE 207 for presentation to the user thereof.

After the content is delivered to the CPE 207 with the inserted assets,the COD asset insertion decision system 111 reports the insertion (e.g.,to the headend 202, the content providers 120, and/or the assetproviders 121) such that the asset campaign database 106 can recomputeand/or synchronize campaigns for another/subsequent content selection bya CPE 207. Examples of the various components and operations of the CODasset insertion decision system 111 are shown and described in therelated patent applications.

It should be noted that each instantiation 113 may include any number ofthe modules illustrated in FIG. 4. For example, in one embodiment, aninstantiation 113 may be operable to perform a portion of the processingon behalf of the COD asset insertion decision system 111 while one ormore other instantiations 113 may perform the remaining processing. Inthis regard, the COD asset insertion decision system 111 may balanceprocessing across multiple computing devices 112. Alternatively oradditionally, each instantiation 113 may perform the functionality ofall of the modules shown in FIG. 4 and individually direct assetinsertions in COD content selections. The COD asset insertion decisionsystem 111 may balance this processing by controlling the routing of CODasset insertion requests to various instantiations 113 and theirrespective computing devices 112. Accordingly, the invention is notintended to be limited to any particular amount or type of processingperformed by each instantiation 113.

An exemplary method operable with the asset insertion decision system111 and its respective instantiations 113 is illustrated in theflowchart 500 of FIG. 5. Operation begins with the asset campaigndatabase 106 maintaining campaign data of the assets, in the processelement 501. The COD asset insertion decision system 111 instantiates ona plurality of computing devices 112-1-n, in the process element 502. Inthis regard, the COD asset insertion decision system 111 provides someor all of the functionality of the system 111 to the instantiations 113on the computing devices 112-1-n such that COD asset insertion requestsmay be received by the instantiations 113-1-n and acted upon to directasset insertions into COD content selections.

The COD asset insertion decision system 111 periodically accesses thedatabase 106 to provide the campaign data therein to the instantiations113-1-n, in the process element 503. With this information, theinstantiations 113-1-n implement all or a portion of the functionalityof the COD asset insertion decision system 111 to direct the insertionof the assets in COD content selections upon request, in the processelement 504. For example, each instantiation 113 may be operable toreceive COD asset insertion requests and then direct insertion of assetsinto COD content selections based on those requests. Thus, eachinstantiation 113 may be responsible for a portion of the overall numberof assets inserted into COD content selections. Each instantiation 113may perform all or a portion of the processing related to any singleasset insertion in any COD content selection. As discussed above, theCOD asset insertion decision system 111 may balance the processingacross the instantiations 113.

One or more of the instantiations 113-1-n records the asset insertionsin the list(s) 114, in the process element 505. For example, the CODasset insertion decision system 111 may establish a recording period forwhich the instantiations 113-1-n record the asset insertion. The CODasset insertion decision system 111 may provide the campaign data of theasset campaign database 106 to the instantiations 113-1-n and thendirect the instantiations 113-1-n to direct the asset insertions duringthe recording period. Once a recording period has been reached, the CODasset insertion decision system 111 retrieves the lists 114-1-n from theinstantiations 113-1-n and accesses the asset campaign database 106 tosynchronize the asset campaign database 106 with the asset insertiondata recorded the lists 114-1-n, in the process element 507. The CODasset insertion decision system 111 may then provide this refreshedcampaign data to the instantiations 113-1-n for the next recordingperiod, thereby alleviating the number of accesses to the asset campaigndatabase 106 and/or the number of computations of campaign data that theasset campaign database 106 needs to undertake. The recording period isgenerally a number of asset insertions and/or a recording duration thatmay be selected as a matter of design choice.

Additionally, the COD asset insertion decision system 111 and/or theinstantiations 113 thereof may be operable to receive information fromthe headend 202 indicative of actual views of the inserted assets. Forexample, the headend 202 may be operable to access a CPE 207 todetermine when a COD content selection is stopped such that a portion ofthe asset insertions are not seen by the viewer of the contentselection. This information may be transferred back to the COD assetinsertion decision system 111 such that the campaign data of thosenon-viewed assets can be compensated or corrected. In other words, whenassets are inserted into COD content selections and they are not viewedbecause of some action on the part of the viewer, such as stopping orfast forwarding the COD content selection, the campaigns of those assetsshould not be influenced. Accordingly, the asset insertion decisionsystem 111 may take this information into consideration to synchronizethe asset campaign database 106.

FIGS. 6-8 are block diagrams illustrating various exemplary embodimentsof the COD asset insertion decision system 111 and the instantiationsthereof. In FIG. 6, an instantiation 113 of the COD asset insertiondecision system 111 is configured within the headend 202 to retrieveassets from the local asset database 205 and/or the national assetdatabase 206 for insertion into COD content. For example, the headend202 may receive content from a communication link such as the satellitedish 415. The headend 202 may store that content within the contentdatabase 204 for distribution to various CPEs 207-1-1-207-n-n when sodirected. The headend 202 may be communicatively coupled to one or moredistribution nodes 401 to distribute content to the CPEs 207.

Content within the content database 204 that is available to the CPEs207 is presented to the CPEs through a programming menu from the headend202. For example, the headend 202 provides a signal to the CPEs 207 viathe distribution nodes 401 containing information relating toprogramming, available COD content, date and time, CPE firmwareinstructions and updates, etc. The CPE 207 processes the signal anddisplays much of this information to the user via some type of displaymodule, such as a television or a computer monitor (not shown). A userof the CPE 207 typically navigates through the information via a remotecontrol of the CPE 207. In this regard, the user may retrieve a menu ofavailable COD content within a content database 204 and select a desiredcontent. That content selection is transferred to the COD 203 of theheadend 202 via the distribution nodes 401. The COD 203 then retrievesthe selected content from the content database 204 for playback to theselecting CPE 207, generally after verification that the selecting CPE207 is indeed a valid customer of the headend 202. The instantiation 113is communicatively coupled to the COD 203 to process the contentselection of the CPE 207 and determine the appropriate assets to insertin the various timeslots of the selected content. The instantiation 113is also communicatively coupled to the COD asset insertion decisionsystem 111 to provide the cached asset insertions thereto as describedabove.

A distribution node 401 is any system or device operable to interfacebetween the headend 202 and multiple CPEs 207 for the purposes ofcommunication. For example, the headend 202, in general, does notdirectly link to the CPEs 207. For a traditional cable television MSO,this generally involves a system of feeder cables and drop cables thatdefine a number of system subsections or branches. Signals from theheadend 202 may be processed by the distribution nodes 401 to insertlocalized content, filter locally available channels, or otherwisecontrol the content delivered to users in the locale of a particularnode. The resulting content within a node's locale is typicallydistributed by optical and/or coaxial links to the individual CPE 207.Each CPE 207 processes the signal from the headend 202 to display thecontent on the display module, such as a television, computer screen,smart phone, tablet, etc.

As shown herein, the distribution nodes 401 are aggregated into a singleelement for the purposes of illustration. Each distribution node 401 iscoupled to a plurality of CPEs 207 to distribute the signals from theheadend 202 and to process communications from the CPEs 207 to theheadend 202. For example, a first distribution node 401 may becommunicatively coupled to the CPEs 207-1-1-207-1-n, whereas a seconddistribution node 401 may be communicatively coupled to the CPEs207-2-1-207-2-n, and so on.

In FIG. 7, the instantiation 113 of the COD asset insertion decisionsystem 111 is operable with a headend 202 through the network 110. Inthis embodiment, the instantiation 113 is separate from the headend 202and communicates therewith via the network 110. For example, theinstantiation 113 of the COD asset insertion decision system 111 may bea remotely configured system that interacts with the headend 202 asdescribed above.

The instantiation 113 may be operable to interface directly with contentproviders 420 and/or asset providers 421 to receive information throughthe network 110 regarding certain asset campaigns of the asset providers421. For example, the content providers 420 and the asset providers 421may negotiate to place certain assets within content from the contentproviders 420. The asset campaigns may be developed using certain assetsfrom the national asset database 206 and/or the local asset database205. Information pertaining to these negotiated asset campaigns may beconveyed to the COD asset insertion decision system 111 via theinstantiation 113. The COD asset insertion decision system 111 may thenuse this information to synchronize the database 106.

In FIG. 8, an instantiation 113 of the COD asset insertion decisionsystem 111 is operable with a server 430 to deliver content withinserted assets through the network 110. In this embodiment, theinstantiation 113 is communicatively coupled to the server 430.Alternatively, the instantiation 113 may be implemented on the server430. The server 430 includes the COD 203 to deliver content from thecontent database 204 to the CPEs 207 via the Internet or other datanetwork. Again, the instantiation 113 of the COD asset insertiondecision system 111 is operable to direct insertion of assets from thenational asset database 206 and/or the local asset database 205 into thecontent for presentation to the users of the CPEs 207. The server 430may be configured to receive content from the content provider(s) 420and maintain that content within a content database 204. The server 430may also receive assets from the asset provider(s) 421 and store thatcontent within the local asset database 205 and the national assetdatabase 206 as appropriate. The invention, however, is not intended tobe limited to any particular manner in which the server 230 is intendedto receive the content and/or the assets from their various providers.

The CPE 207 may be a computer or a mobile computing device capable ofdisplaying video from the network 110 (e.g., via streaming video overthe Internet). For example, a CPE 207 may select a desired content froman Internet website hosted with the server 430 through the network 110.Once selected, the COD 203 may retrieve the content from the contentdatabase 204 for Internet delivery to the selecting CPE 207. Theinstantiation 113 of the COD asset insertion decision system 111, beingcommunicatively coupled to the COD 203, processes information pertainingto the content selection and selects assets for insertion into thatcontent from the national asset database 206 and/or the local assetdatabase 205. The instantiation 113 may do so based in part on thecampaigns of the asset providers 421 and in a manner that provides valueto the content providers 420.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram depicting a processing system 500 alsooperable to provide the above features by executing programmedinstructions and accessing data stored on a computer readable storagemedium 512. In this regard, embodiments of the invention can take theform of a computer program accessible via the computer-readable medium512 providing program code for use by a computer or any otherinstruction execution system. For the purposes of this description,computer readable storage medium 512 can be anything that can contain,store, communicate, or transport the program for use by a computer.

The computer readable storage medium 512 can be an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor device. Examples ofcomputer readable storage medium 512 include a solid state memory, amagnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random access memory(RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk, and an opticaldisk. Current examples of optical disks include compact disk-read onlymemory (CD-ROM), compact disk-read/write (CD-R/W), and DVD.

The processing system 500, being suitable for storing and/or executingthe program code, includes at least one processor 502 coupled to memoryelements 504 through a system bus 550. Memory elements 504 can includelocal memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulkstorage, and cache memories that provide temporary storage of at leastsome program code and/or data in order to reduce the number of times thecode and/or data are retrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Input/output (I/O) devices 506 (including but not limited to keyboards,displays, pointing devices, etc) can be coupled to the processing system500 either directly or through intervening I/O controllers. Networkadapter interfaces 508 may also be coupled to the system to enable theprocessing system 500 to become coupled to other processing systems orstorage devices through intervening private or public networks. Modems,cable modems, IBM Channel attachments, SCSI, Fibre Channel, and Ethernetcards are just a few of the currently available types of network or hostinterface adapters. Presentation device interface 510 may be coupled tothe system to interface to one or more presentation devices, such asprinting systems and displays for presentation of presentation datagenerated by the processor 502.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description isto be considered as exemplary and not restrictive in character. Certainembodiments described hereinabove may be combinable with other describedembodiments and/or arranged in other ways. Accordingly, it should beunderstood that only the preferred embodiment and variants thereof havebeen shown and described and that all changes and modifications thatcome within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system operable to direct insertion of assetsin Content On Demand content across a plurality of computing devices,the system comprising: a database operable to maintain campaign data ofthe assets; and an asset insertion decision system operable toinstantiate on a plurality of computing devices and to periodicallyaccess the database to provide the campaign data to the instantiationsof the asset insertion decision system on the computing devices, whereineach instantiation of the asset insertion decision system is operable todirect insertion of a portion of the assets in Content On Demand contentselections upon request and to record the asset insertions betweenaccesses to the database, and wherein the asset insertion decisionsystem is further operable to process the asset insertions recorded bythe instantiations to synchronize the campaign database.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein: each instantiation of the asset insertion decisionsystem is operable to process assets for insertion in the COD contentselections to qualify the assets for insertion in the COD contentselections, to rank the assets for insertion in the COD contentselections, and to resolve conflicts of the assets selected forinsertion in the COD content selections, or a combination thereof; andthe asset insertion decision system is further operable to balance theprocessing of the instantiations across the computing devices.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein: at least one of the instantiations of theasset insertion decision system is operable to process a request forasset insertions in a COD content selection by a customer premisesequipment, to identify assets that are available for insertion in theCOD content selection, to determine values of the available assets to aprovider of the COD content selection, to rank the available assetsbased on the determined values, and to direct the insertion of the oneor more assets in the selected COD content based on the rank of theavailable assets.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein: at least one of theinstantiations of the asset insertion decision system is operable toprocess a request for asset insertions in a COD content selection by acustomer premises equipment to extract information of the COD contentselection including a provider of the COD content selection, tocommunicate with the provider of the COD content selection to validatethe request, to analyze the information of the COD content selection tovalidate assets for insertion in the COD content selection, and toremove one or more of the assets from insertion selection based on thevalidation of the assets.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein: at leastone of the instantiations of the asset insertion decision system isoperable to process a request for asset insertions in a COD contentselection by a customer premises equipment, to identify asset timeslotswithin the COD content selection from the request, to determine an assetseparation criteria from the assets, to determine conflicts among theassets based on the asset separation criteria to remove conflictingassets, and to select at least a portion of the remaining assets forinsertion in the asset timeslots of the COD content selection.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein: the asset insertion decision system isfurther operable to establish a recording period between the accesses tothe database by the asset insertion decision system.
 7. A method ofdirecting insertion of assets in Content On Demand content across aplurality of computing devices, the method comprising: maintainingcampaign data of the assets in a database; instantiating an assetinsertion decision system on a plurality of computing devices; with theasset insertion decision system, periodically accessing the database toprovide the campaign data to the instantiations of the asset insertiondecision system on the computing devices; with the instantiations of theasset insertion decision system, directing insertion of a portion of theassets in Content On Demand content selections upon request; recordingthe asset insertions directed by the instantiations between accesses tothe database; and processing the asset insertions directed by theinstantiations to synchronize the campaign database.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, the method further comprising: directing at least twoinstantiations of the asset insertion decision system to process assetsfor insertion in the COD content selections; and balancing theprocessing of the at least two instantiations across the computingdevices, wherein each of the at least two instantiations of the assetinsertion decision systems is operable to qualify the assets forinsertion in the COD content selections, to rank the assets forinsertion in the COD content selections, to resolve conflicts of theassets selected for insertion in the COD content selections, or acombination thereof.
 9. The method of claim 7, with at least one of theinstantiations of the asset insertion decision system, the methodfurther comprising: processing a request for asset insertions in a CODcontent selection by a customer premises equipment; identifying assetsthat are available for insertion in the COD content selection;determining values of the available assets to a provider of the CODcontent selection; ranking the available assets based on the determinedvalues; and directing the insertion of the one or more assets in theselected COD content based on the rank of the available assets.
 10. Themethod of claim 7, with at least one of the instantiations of the assetinsertion decision system, the method further comprising: processing arequest for asset insertions in a COD content selection by a customerpremises equipment to extract information of the COD content selectionincluding a provider of the COD content selection; communicating withthe provider of the COD content selection to validate the request;analyzing the information of the COD content selection to validateassets for insertion in the COD content selection; and removing one ormore of the assets from insertion selection based on the validation ofthe assets.
 11. The method of claim 7, with at least one of theinstantiations of the asset insertion decision system, the methodfurther comprising: processing a request for asset insertions in a CODcontent selection by a customer premises equipment; identifying assettimeslots within the COD content selection from the request; determiningan asset separation criteria from the assets; determining conflictsamong the assets based on the asset separation criteria to removeconflicting assets; and selecting at least a portion of the remainingassets for insertion in the asset timeslots of the COD contentselection.
 12. The method of claim 7, further comprising: establishing arecording period between the accesses to the database by the assetinsertion decision system.
 13. A non transitory computer readable mediumcomprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, direct theprocessor to direct insertion of assets in Content On Demand contentacross a plurality of computing devices, the instructions furtherdirecting the processor to: maintain campaign data of the assets in adatabase; instantiate an asset insertion decision system on a pluralityof computing devices; with the asset insertion decision system,periodically access the database to provide the campaign data to theinstantiations of the asset insertion decision system on the computingdevices; with the instantiations of the asset insertion decision system,direct insertion of a portion of the assets in Content On Demand contentselections upon request; record the asset insertions directed by theinstantiations between accesses to the database; and process the assetinsertions directed by the instantiations to synchronize the campaigndatabase.
 14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, furthercomprising instructions that direct the processor to: direct at leasttwo instantiations of the asset insertion decision system to processassets for insertion in the COD content selections; and balance theprocessing of the at least two instantiations across the computingdevices, wherein each of the at least two instantiations of the assetinsertion decision systems is operable to qualify the assets forinsertion in the COD content selections, to rank the assets forinsertion in the COD content selections, to resolve conflicts of theassets selected for insertion in the COD content selections, or acombination thereof.
 15. The computer readable medium of claim 13,further comprising instructions that direct the processor to direct atleast one of the instantiations of the asset insertion decision systemto: process a request for asset insertions in a COD content selection bya customer premises equipment; identify assets that are available forinsertion in the COD content selection; determine values of theavailable assets to a provider of the COD content selection; rank theavailable assets based on the determined values; and direct theinsertion of the one or more assets in the selected COD content based onthe rank of the available assets.
 16. The computer readable medium ofclaim 13, further comprising instructions that direct the processor todirect at least one of the instantiations of the asset insertiondecision system to: process a request for asset insertions in a CODcontent selection by a customer premises equipment to extractinformation of the COD content selection including a provider of the CODcontent selection; communicate with the provider of the COD contentselection to validate the request; analyze the information of the CODcontent selection to validate assets for insertion in the COD contentselection; and remove one or more of the assets from insertion selectionbased on the validation of the assets.
 17. The computer readable mediumof claim 13, further comprising instructions that direct the processorto direct at least one of the instantiations of the asset insertiondecision system to: process a request for asset insertions in a CODcontent selection by a customer premises equipment; identify assettimeslots within the COD content selection from the request; determinean asset separation criteria from assets; determine conflicts among theassets based on the asset separation criteria to remove conflictingassets; and selecting at least a portion of the remaining assets forinsertion in the asset timeslots of the COD content selection.
 18. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising instructionsthat direct the processor to: establish a recording period between theaccesses to the database by the asset insertion decision system.